A Strange Proposition
by Spaarneer
Summary: A strange man comes to Shang Tsung with an even stranger proposition
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

Shang Tsung sat in his chamber. He smiled inwardly, knowing that the time of the tournament was once again at hand.

Centuries earlier, he had been banished to Earthrealm. But his banishment had turned out to be a blessing. The Elder Gods had established the Mortal Kombat tournament, allowing a weaker realm to protect itself from a stronger realm via hand-to-hand combat; if a realm could produce just one good fighter every few centuries, it would be safe.

Earthrealm was not safe. Shang Tsung had corrupted the tournament by entering his own champion, a dragon prince named Goro. Goro had won the last nine competitions. Under the rules of Mortal Kombat, Goro's nearly certain victory in the upcoming tournament would open Earthrealm to conquest by Shang Tsung's master, the Emperor Shao Khan of Outworld, giving Tsung the redemption he craved.

Soon, the fighters would gather, and soon, the tournament would begin again. Shang Tsung stood up to begin the day's preparations.

As he stepped out of the chamber, his personal assistant, a young fighter named Ling Nim, was waiting by the door to greet him. This was odd - Nim rarely came to his chamber and even more rarely interrupted him.

"Master Tsung, there is a man here who wishes to speak to you. He's from Earthrealm."

While Shang Tsung's private island was indeed in Earthrealm, he had never considered it so. As far as he was concerned, it was the first outpost of Outworld in this realm; it was physically and magically protected from Earthrealm and nobody who had access to the island would ever have been described as "from Earthrealm" in his presence.

"Who is he? How did he get here?"

"He just sailed up to the dock in a small boat. He is some sort of merchant. He tried to explain it to me, but I didn't understand it. He said he 'buys sports'. I don't know what that means. He said that he came to speak with the one in charge of the tournament, and then asked for you by name. He's not threatening, but since he's the first person from Earthrealm to come here uninvited, I decided to let you handle him."

His curiosity piqued, Shang Tsung walked to the foyer of the temple. He instantly knew which man there was from Earthrealm.

The man was not a fighter. He was probably about thirty, overweight, and did not stand in a fighting stance. Shang Tsung sneered - every man in his temple was expected to be in peak physical condition, and the only outsiders he had seen in his centuries here were the Earthrealm fighters.

He looked out at the dock, where the man's ship was visible. It appeared to be a small sailboat. Its smooth white lines, heavy reliance on metal construction, and plain sails confirmed that it was not of Outworld. There were other men on the boat, and despite their strange clothing and weapons, they stood in a posture that allowed Shang Tsung to instantly recognize them as guards. Their posture was defensive, and they were making no attempt to leave the boat. Unlike the strange man before him, these men appeared to be formidable fighters.

He turned his attention back to the strange man. Despite having lived there for centuries, Shang Tsung knew little about Earthrealm. But he recognized the formal wear that the man had on, what they called a 'suit'. It consisted of a jacket that wouldn't keep out the cold, pants that would restrict movement, and a brightly colored choking device around the neck. This man was not dressed for combat, but for vanity.

Shang Tsung walked over to the man, looked at him, and spoke. "Earther. I am Shang Tsung, ruler of this island and representative of Emperor Shao Khan. You are the first outsider to come here in centuries. You come to my island, uninvited, and ask to speak to me personally. You have found me. Speak. If I am not pleased with what I hear, we are going to have a long conversation about how you found and came to this place."

The man smiled nervously, but there was a genuine current of amusement beneath it. Shang Tsung found himself warming up to this stranger almost immediately.

"Mr. Tsung, my name is Kenneth Walker. First off, about how I got here: the organization I work for has the ability to do what we need to do. That's all I am authorized to say about it at this time." He paused for a moment, and his demeanor changed, becoming more genuinely friendly. "Are you familiar with the Earthrealm technology called Television?"

With that, the man walked over to a table and placed a small black object on it. Shang Tsung watched with interest. He was vaguely aware that the Earth wizards could produce interesting effects with their 'technology', and realized that he was about to get a demonstration.

"This device here is an eye. It sees things. This device here"- The man took a small rectangle out of his pocket. He held it up to his face, staring intently at it and poking it with his fingers. "-shows what the eye sees."

With that, the man turned the small rectangle so that Shang Tsung could see the other side. He was surprised to see an image of the room they were in, complete with the two men! The man explained that the "eye" would see things, and communicate those things to the rectangle, which would then show those same things. Shang Tsung was entranced. He could see himself from outside, in a way that a mirror would never allow. He waved his hands a little bit but managed to restrain himself from acting like a fool. The strange Earther was still talking, but Shang Tsung was barely listening. After a minute, he regained his composure and looked at the man.

"This is very interesting, but I don't understand. Why have you come here and brought this with you?"

Kenneth smiled. Again, Shang Tsung found himself disarmed by this man. Kenneth answered, "I represent an organization called ESPN. In Earthrealm, everyone has devices like this, both small handheld ones and larger ones the size of that tapestry over there. ESPN sets up eyes - we call them 'cameras' - at sporting events, and then people give us money to send images of the sporting events to their homes."

Kenneth continued, "Most Earthers have no idea that Mortal Kombat even exists. Outside of Shaolin monasteries, it's virtually unknown. At most, a person who gets heavily into combat sports might hear rumors about a huge, secret tournament to the death on the other side of the planet. But people should know about it! The fate of our world is on the line. People would certainly want to see such a tournament as it plays out. And ESPN is positioned better than anyone to bring it to them."

"And that's what we want from you. We want to set up cameras at the tournament site and send images to the rest of Earthrealm. We want the exclusive right to do so – you'd agree to not let anyone not from ESPN to set up such a camera. And finally, we want your reasonable cooperation in doing so."

Shang Tsung wasn't quite sure what to say. This proposition was unlike anything he'd heard before. While Mortal Kombat was not exactly a secret, it had never been well-known. Shao Khan, Shang Tsung, and even Earthrealm protectors like Raiden and the Shaolin Monks were all fine with that. The idea of thousands of Earthers - or more - watching the tournament made him uneasy.

"OK, Kenneth Walker o N, why should I let you do this? You've obviously come here to negotiate. But you have yet to offer me anything. What could you have that I want? What could you have that I won't take when my master's armies conquer Earthrealm?"

With this question, Kenneth's smile widened. "I have five hundred pounds of gold on my boat. We're prepared to trade you that for exclusive television rights to your tournament."

Shang Tsung was taken aback and did some quick mental math. His temple's annual budget amounted to less than fifty pounds of gold. That kind of money would instantly make him one of the wealthiest men in Outworld - even Emperor Khan's cash reserves amounted to less than a thousand pounds. But he didn't want to seem too eager.

"If I do this, what do you want from me? What do you expect me to give up?"

"We'd have the right to set up cameras as necessary to view fights, though we would not interfere with them. Naming rights to tournament venues. We'd run cabling as necessary around the facility. Control over scheduling to guarantee maximum entertainment value to our clients. Access to the fighters personally for interviews. Other access to the island as necessary to transmit images back to Earth. And finally, nobody else from Earthrealm would be allowed to set up cameras or otherwise transmit images, accounts or descriptions of the tournament back to Earthrealm."

Shang Tsung considered the list of demands. None of them sounded particularly difficult. Kenneth explained that the 'cables' he wanted to 'run' around the facility were metal ropes that would go from the boat to the combat venues. He also explained that ESPN would have the right to rename the venues; this request seemed odd to Shang Tsung. The Bridge had always simply been called "The Bridge", and the same went for other places where fights were held. He couldn't imagine what ESPN might want to call it instead. He asked about the "control over scheduling". Kenneth pointed out that some fights were going to be more interesting than others, and that his clients would want to watch those in the evening, while the less interesting fights could be held during the day. Finally, Shang Tsung asked about "interviews". Kenneth explained that people watching tournaments would like to learn more about the fighters lives - while it was interesting to watch someone named "Johnny Cage" fighting someone named "Scorpion", it would be far more interesting to watch a movie star who came here to prove himself fighting against an undead ninja seeking revenge against his brother.

Shang Tsung was taken aback by that last answer. "How do you know these things about Mortal Kombat and its participants? Your world barely knows that this tournament exists!"

Kenneth smiled his mysterious smile. "Again, I will simply answer that my organization has access to whatever knowledge it needs. Do we have a deal?"

The deal sounded too good to be true. So Shang Tsung stalled while contemplating it.

"You understand that the fate of your world rides on this tournament? For centuries, the elder gods have protected your realm, preventing any conquest so long as Outworld's fighters could not win ten Mortal Kombats in a row. We have won the last nine. If a competitor from Outworld wins this tournament, the armies of Shao Khan will march across Earthrealm. When we get to...wherever ESPN is, we'll sack your city. If you can bring five hundred pounds of gold here, today, how much do you have there? And why would people want to watch a tournament that will end with the conquest of their world?"

Kenneth's smooth facade dropped a bit, but he quickly recovered.

"Winning Mortal Kombat doesn't give you Earthrealm. It just means that the Elder Gods won't stop you from trying to conquer it. You'll still have to face our armies. But that doesn't change my proposal. If you accept this deal and then win, well, you get wealth that you might have wound up taking by conquest anyway. But if you lose, you still get paid. As for why people would want to watch, it's simple. If the war is going to happen, it's going to happen. The only thing that prevents it is this tournament. Why would they not want to watch? You have spectator areas at every venue. Clearly, you understand that a fight of this importance can be a form of entertainment. And again, this way, even if you don't win the tournament, and have to restart the 500-year conquest-of-earth clock, at least you get a nice gold payment."

Shang Tsung considered this. At last, he spoke again. "Very well. Mortal Kombat will be displayed on ESPN."


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

It was seven days before the tournament was to begin. Fighters from Earthrealm were arriving, and fighters from Outworld were preparing. Shang Tsung spoke to Ling Nim.

"Are the fighting venues ready to go? Three tournaments ago, there were cats all over the co…"; As he spoke, Shang Tsung's throat suddenly closed up. He found himself unable to speak and barely able to breathe. He coughed, took a deep breath, and felt his throat clear. He tried to speak again. "There were cats all over the co…"; Once again, he was unable to speak.

He remembered what the ESPN law priests had said to him the day before. Stunned, he knew what he had to do. He took a deep breath, and spoke once more.

"Three tournaments ago, we were about to start the first fight in the Monster Energy Drink Kombat Kourtyard when we discovered that nobody had bothered to move the cats out of it." Once he resolved to use the correct phrase, he was able to complete his sentence. He had never seen magic like this; despite all his powers, he was literally unable to say those simple words.

He and Ling Nim decided to go confirm that the cats had been properly evicted. As they approached the Monster Energy Drink Kombat Kourtyard, he nearly tripped over a rope. Glancing down, he saw another one of Earthrealm's infernal rubber cables snaking carelessly up the stairs. He glared at it, reminding himself that there were 250 pounds of gold in his vault, and 250 more to be paid upon conclusion of the tournament.

As they evicted the cats, Ling Nim stopped to ask a question. "Master, do you think it's odd that Kenneth Walker of ESPN seems so unafraid of Shao Khan's conquest? At one point when we were talking, I mentioned that a single Outworld swordsman division could have ten thousand men, armed with fearsome swords and trained to use them; I hoped to create at least a little fear in him. He just smiled politely and said something about wondering how they'd fare against eight hundred and ten warthogs. Master, how can he be so confident? Are they really going to unleash wild pigs to try to defend their world?"

Shang Tsung shook his head. "I don't know. Kenneth Walker of ESPN is a curious man. Perhaps, once the conquest of Earthrealm is concluded, we can have that conversation I threatened him with that day he came here."


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

Liu Kang had been preparing for this day all his life. When he had been a Shaolin Monk, he had known that one day he would represent Earthrealm in the all-important tenth round of Mortal Kombat. Despite his estrangement from that order, he was still prepared to represent Earth. Already, things were different from what he expected. As a child, he had heard his elders describe previous tournaments. But his reception on the dock had not been quiet, respectful, and subdued; the entire port had been filled with westerners and TV cameras.

Instead of the small, nondescript sailboat he had expected, there had been a much larger freighter at the dock, and a crowd gathered around it. He never would have guessed that this was the ship that would sail to Shang Tsung's secret island, had he not seen Shang Tsung's own stylized dragon logo on it. But where he would have expected the logo to be a small decoration on the ship, it was instead an enormous, colorful image that took up most of the stern. He also paused briefly to wonder at the strange little "TM" that was displayed prominently next to it.

As he approached the ship, the westerners with TV cameras took notice and began shouting questions at him. He didn't speak much English, and was able to ignore them, until one of them shouted, in accented but understandable Chinese, "Liu Kang! What's your strategy for the tournament? Are there any other White Lotus fighters joining you? Are you going to be able to work with the Shaolin Monks?"

Having never spoken to a reporter before, he didn't know how to answer the questions. Fortunately, the questions seemed more designed to show off the knowledge of the askers rather than to learn anything from him. Not wanting to deal with this, he walked down the open walkway towards the ship. He was almost relieved to see one of Shang Tsung's apprentices standing near the gangway. The man looked up and smiled.

"Liu Kang! Welcome. You'll need to wear this for the duration of the tournament." With that, the man handed Liu Kang a large, colorful card with his name and picture on it. It also had Shang Tsung's logo (again with that curious TM next to it), and the word COMPETITOR in large black letters. The card had a string coming out of each top corner, and Shang Tsung's apprentice indicated to Liu Kang that he should wear the card around his neck like a necklace. The man was wearing a similar card himself, but where Liu Kang's said COMPETITOR, the man's read STAFF/RECEPTION.

"Your quarters on this ship are ready, you're on deck 4, cabin 38. We sail in two hours, and the first briefing will be shortly afterward in the;" - the man seemed to wince briefly –"Built Ford Tough briefing room. Be there by 5:30 this afternoon."


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

Like most Americans, Jackson Briggs had first heard the phrase "Mortal Kombat" when ESPN began advertising it. He had been at the gym working out, when the TV in the background switched from a tennis match to an ESPN BREAKING NEWS graphic. A sports fan, Jax was familiar with the various ESPN logos, and had never seen this one before. His curiosity piqued, he put down the weight he'd been lifting and walked over to the TV.

"ESPN has always been proud to bring Americans and the world the best in sports programming. Today, ESPN can announce an amazing new programming contract that will be of interest to not only sports fans, but to everyone on Earth."

"Rumors have always swirled around martial arts in the Far East. In the American mind, every dojo in Asia is an ancient temple, every Karate instructor a wise ancient master. It turns out that some of these rumors are true. Prepare to question everything you ever thought you knew about reality and humanity's place in the universe."

Jax's interest was piqued. This was by far the most extravagant sports promotion he'd ever seen, far outweighing even the professional wrestling that he occasionally followed. The TV continued.

"Our world is not the only world. Other realms exist, and long ago, these realms were locked in perpetual war. The Elder Gods put a stop to those wars by creating a series of fighting tournaments, called Mortal Kombat. These tournaments were held every fifty years, and a realm could not conquer – or even bother – another unless they could win ten tournaments in a row against that realm. One realm in particular has had its eyes on Earth for centuries. Known only as 'Outworld', that realm has won the last nine Mortal Kombats against us; if their fighters win the next tournament, Earthrealm will be open to conquest. These tournaments have been held in secret for centuries. But this year, ESPN is proud to announce that, via special arrangement, we are going to be able to show the entire tournament. Starting Saturday April 28, the fate of the Earth will be decided. Tune in at 6:00 Eastern tonight for our special on the history of Outworld...

Jax was confused. ESPN, promoting some sort of UFC competitor, with a bad sci-fi backstory that would make Vince McMahon blush? Nobody else in the gym seemed to have noticed the report, adding to the surreality of the situation. Jax prepared to return to his workout when his phone rang. His commanding officer ordered him to report for duty immediately.

Still sweating from the gym, Jax stood at attention in the Lieutenant Colonel's office. "I came as soon as I could, as per your orders, sir. Did we get a lead on Kano?"

"At ease, Major. No, this isn't related to him. We have an unusual situation. Command is evaluating a new threat, and you might be involved in handling it. You won the Armed Forces Combined boxing tournament last year. That's a skill that might be necessary."

The LC continued. "You know those tales you hear about a magical dojo in the Far East where a secret martial arts tournament decides the fate of humanity?"

"Yeah, I just saw an ad about this on ESPN. What does the Army have to do with it?"

"An ad on ESPN…? Goddammit. We heard that they were poking around, but not that they'd gotten in. Well. That certainly makes things more interesting. What did you see?"

"Sir, ESPN is promoting some sort of fighting competition, with an ad about how the fate of humanity rides on this tournament. With all due respect sir, what the hell is going on? Why is the Army interested in this?"

"What you're about to hear next is classified, but with ESPN involved, that may be moot. Unfortunately, Major, in command's opinion, that story isn't just something that ESPN made up. The powers that be have known about this tournament for some time, and it appears that the fate of Earth may actually ride on it."

"OK, sir, you're going to have to start over. How does the fate of Earth ride on an ESPN tournament?"

. . .

Walking back to his quarters, Jax's mind was reeling. He'd been raised Baptist, so everything he'd heard was not only preposterous, but heretical to him. Elder Gods? Magical protection of "Earthrealm"? Raiden, the God of Thunder?

Regardless of that, though, Command thought the threat was very real, and was preparing to enter Jax into the contest as a legitimate competitor, where he'd be literally fighting for the fate of Earth. All because he'd won a boxing tournament a few months earlier.


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

"Do you have any idea what you've unleashed?"

Johnny Cage sat in his agent's office, grinning. A quiet discussion with ESPN had led to the Mortal Kombat tournament suddenly being world-famous. With less than two weeks until he was to be on a once-obscure dock in Asia, Johnny Cage was suddenly one of the biggest names in entertainment. But that didn't seem to impress the soldier in the room with him. But, it was a little late for anything but bravado.

"Fame. Respect. That's what I've unleashed. I've been a punch-line for too long. I started as a real fighter. Just because I fight in front of a camera doesn't mean that I'm anything else. I just invited ESPN to come watch me prove myself."

Major Jackson Briggs glared at this little Hollywood punk. Yeah, his movies were fun, but for him to think he was able to represent Earth in the most important fighting tournament ever represented an arrogance that went well beyond anything that even Hollywood could be expected to display.

"You're an actor. You went 5-7 in UFC twelve years ago before you got a movie gig, and haven't fought professionally since then. Do you have any idea what's awaiting you at this tournament? Do you understand how important it is?"

"I'm not naïve, Major, nor am I ignorant of the nature of Mortal Kombat. I've kept my skills sharp, and two months ago, a teacher in Chinatown told me things I never would have believed, culminating with him inviting me to this tournament. I'm ready. Sorry if I didn't want to do it secretly."

"Yeah? You're ready? Let's go spar right now. Show me how ready you are to fight for humanity."

In the gym, Jax was warming up. He wasn't planning to hurt this little punk – he really did make good movies – but a lesson was definitely in order.

"Major? Before we begin, I'd like to show you a move. Remember when I told you that I learned things in Chinatown? I learned more than just about the existence of Mortal Kombat. Please stand here…"

Johnny stepped to the opposite side of the ring, about 20 feet away. "OK Major, I want you to block your face, like I'm about to kick you there."

"Boy, you're 20 feet away. I'll block you when you're a threat."

"Please, Major, humor me."

Jax shrugged and put his arms up, blocking a kick that was still several seconds away.

With that, Johnny kicked the air in front of him; had he not been twenty feet away, and had Jax not been blocking, the kick would have connected with his face. He glared derisively when suddenly, something strange happened. Johnny seemed to lose his color and become…dim. As this happened, the faded shadow moved forward as if attached to a rubber band. A fraction of a second later, the shadow faded back into a solid fighter just before connecting with the block that Jax was still holding. Jax hadn't properly braced for the hit, and was knocked back into the ropes.

"How…?"

"Magic, major. This isn't just a fighting tournament. It's a magical fighting tournament, and trust me when I say you're going to need all the help you can get."

Johnny left the ring, put on his sunglasses, and walked out of the room.


End file.
